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Most of us know clumsy sentences when we hear or read them, but we don’t always know exactly why they are clumsy or possess the skills to fix them. An E-Newsletter reader heard the awkwardness of the following sentence but was puzzled by how to reword it. The network that this computer is able to …

Thanks to Lawrence K., who responded to my tip on forming plurals of symbols by pointing out that the plurals of some abbreviations are formed in ways other than by adding an s. Example: pp. = pages Example: sp. = species (singular); spp. = species (plural) Example: cc., c.c., C.C., Cc, or cc = copy/copies …

Today I will answer a couple of questions I received from radio listeners when I was a guest. Question: Should you say "pleaded guilty" or "pled guilty"? Answer: Either one is considered correct. Question: Does "enormity" mean "something monstrous" or "something huge"? Answer: In formal writing, enormity has nothing to do with something's size. The …

Rule 1: In general, use onto as one word to mean "on top of," "to a position on," "upon." Examples: He climbed onto the roof. Let’s step onto the dance floor. Rule 2: Use onto when you mean "fully aware of," "informed about." Examples: I'm onto your scheme. We canceled Julia's surprise party when we …

The word advice is a noun. It means recommendation. Example: My sister gave me great advice about applying to colleges. The word advise is a verb. It means "to give advice," "to inform," "to recommend." Example: Can you advise me about colleges that offer bioengineering degrees?   Pop Quiz The principal gave the graduating seniors …

Do you get confused about the proper way to use a semicolon? Semicolons do not represent a full stop at the end of a sentence, as periods do; rather, they're like the "yellow light" of punctuation marks: they signal a pause between one sentence and the next. You slow down, then stop at the end …

Many words in English cause confusion because they sound or look alike. Here are a few rules to help you with some common but tricky words. Rule 1: The word accept means "to agree," "to receive." The word except means "but," "not including." Examples: I accept your apology. I'll eat anything except cottage cheese. Rule …

Whether to use the preposition into or the phrase in to can be a source of confusion. We'll take a closer look at both to help clarify which is correct in its context. Into Into Meaning: to the inside of Usage Example: The children jumped into the lake for a swim. Into Meaning: toward or in the …

Rule: With words that indicate portions—some, all, none, percent, fraction, part, majority, remainder, and so forth —look at the noun in your of phrase (object of the preposition) to determine whether to use a singular or plural verb. If the object of the preposition is singular, use a singular verb. If the object of the …

We get more questions about pronoun usage, particularly I vs. me, than any other topic. So, here is a review that should help you feel more secure about your choices. For more on the topic, click here. Should we say, "She and I went to the store"? Or is it correct to say, "She and …